10:55 a.m.: Eric Sorrentino

There’s a good chance Kansas has more depth than any team in the Big 12. Heck, anyone in the country for that matter.

I can tell you this much, though: Texas is not far behind.

The Longhorns could present a starting lineup that looks something like this:

• 1. Avery Bradley
• 2. Justin Mason
• 3. Damion James
• 4. Gary Johnson
• 5. Dexter Pittman

That doesn’t even include 6-foot-7 freshman Jordan Hamilton, a five-star Rivals.com recruit who can play anywhere on the wing. Bradley, a freshman, is also a five-star guy in one of coach Rick Barnes’ best recruiting classes.

Then, there’s Florida transfer point guard Jai Lucas, Dogus Balbay and Varez Ward (voted most improved Longhorn this offseason).

Serious depth.

“Really, up to this point, every day it seems like somebody else does something,” UT coach Rick Barnes said. “If we have to play 14 guys, we’ll play 14 guys. There’s no doubt we’re going to be shuffling people in and out of games. We want to make conditioning a factor. So we’re going to use our bench.”

This makes me think forward to Feb. 8, 2010. Featured act: Kansas vs. Texas. Site: Austin, Texas. It should be one of the most exciting games anywhere. Both teams should be ranked in the top five in the country.

For the past few years, Kansas and Texas have been the model programs in the Big 12. When they face each other, the game always seems like the most exciting game of the year. Remember the 2008 Big 12 Championship game at the Sprint Center? One of the best games I’ve ever seen in the Big 12.

Looks like the upcoming year will be no different.

10:30 a.m.: Jesse Newell

I get the feeling many Kansas fans have a hard time hating Missouri coach Mike Anderson.

It’s tough to not root for the guy. His teams play a fast-paced, pressure-based, unselfish style of game, and the coach seems to get the most out of his players.

At the Coaches vs. Cancer charity event two weeks ago, I sensed that Anderson was a bit frustrated with the lack of respect his team was getting this season.

That frustration seemed to carry over into today’s media day after his team was picked seventh in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll last week.

“I think this will be a new team that’s got to find its own identity,” Anderson said. “With that being said, I think the brand won’t change. It still is going to be the fastest 40 minutes in basketball. …

I was a bit surprised that MU was picked behind teams like Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. But I guess the question out there is still this: Was Anderson’s style successful because of players like DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons, or were DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons successful because of Anderson’s style?

Anderson also seemed a bit defensive when discussing his somewhat overlooked guards J.T. Tiller and Zaire Taylor (a pair the coach calls “T&T”).

“There’s a reason why we won 31 games … We led the nation in assists. We led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. This is a team that was No. 5 in the country in scoring, playing up-tempo,” Anderson said. “I think you’ve got good guard play when that takes place. I think people fail to recognize that.

“Sometimes people look at the scoring, and no question about it, I think (Tiller and Taylor) have got to be able to score more this year. Hopefully, they’ll continue to do the things they did for our basketball team last year.”

9:57 a.m.: Jesse Newell

Last season, I gained a lot of respect for Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik.

I interviewed him twice last season — both times after KU wins — and the coach was both open and honest with the evaluation of his team.

Bzdelik was blunt once again today when asked about his team’s rebounding.

“Our weakness is going to be our rebounding. It was last year,” Bzdelik said. “If that doesn’t change, you know, to be quite frank, we’re not going to change much from a win and loss standpoint. And players know that.”

In case you were wondering, if CU doesn’t change from a win-loss standpoint, the Buffs would repeat a 9-22 record, with a 1-15 mark in Big 12 play.

Ouch.

Later, Bzdelik was asked where his team’s rebounding would come from this season.

“We’ll find out together,” he said with a smile.

You have to appreciate that kind of honesty.

Original post: 8:55 a.m.: Eric Sorrentino

Kansas City, Mo. — Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self began Big 12 media day at Sprint Center with an interesting comparison with respect to center Cole Aldrich.

“He could be the best true big man Kansas has had since Wilt (Chamberlain),” Self said. “And you stop and think about the true big man, Danny (Manning) wasn’t a center and Raef (Lafrentz) wasn’t a center. But you really look at it, and that’s a pretty big statement for 50-plus years that he could be the best true big guy. I say not common, but certainly not totally unusual to have a guy like Cole that knows who he is. There’s just not too many guys out there that do that. Most guys feel like they gotta be something else, and he doesn’t feel that way at all.”

Pretty high praise for the junior, a preseason All-American center and projected NBA lottery pick.

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Aldrich averaged 14.9 points and 11.1 rebounds last season for the Jayhawks, who advanced to the Sweet 16. The Bloomington, Minn. native displayed flashes of brilliance with games like the Dayton game in last year’s NCAA Tournament, where he scored 13 points, grabbed 20 boards and swatted a school-record 10 shots.

So let me ask you guys: Do you agree with Self’s comment on Aldrich?

Other quick nuggets from Self’s media session:

• Gary Bedore learned that KU freshman center Jeff Withey will miss 4-6 weeks with a knee injury. Self has heard Dec. 1 as a target date for Withey’s return.

• The most pleasant surprises so far in practice? Two answers: The first is freshman power forward Thomas Robinson. Self mentioned the motor that Robinson possessed. He’s changed practice more than anyone on the court so far. The second surprise was freshman Xavier Henry. Self talked about the high ceiling for the freshman from Oklahoma City and spoke to his ability to score.

Self also said it seemed Robinson would have an immediate impact. That’s significant, considering he talked about only having an eight-man rotation during the season. In the preseason, the Jayhawks and Texas Longhorns would appear to have the most depth in the Big 12. This is shaping up to be one of the deeper KU teams I can remember.

Stay tuned for more KU updates and other updates from around the conference.

And as always, discuss.